


Until The Next Time

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: F/M, Porn Battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-01
Updated: 2011-08-01
Packaged: 2017-10-22 02:37:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/232801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For tonight she was just Ashe, but in the morning she would be Queen again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Until The Next Time

Ashe had worked hard to reclaim Dalmasca, but it seemed almost like an empty victory. There had been too much loss and pain on the way, too much sacrificed to get to this point of fragile peace. In a way, she almost missed being Amalia. At least as leader of the Resistance she could move about freely, could find out things for herself. As the Queen, her life was more constricted, more rules and regulations and infinite layers of protocol.

Some days, it was enough to make her scream.

She hid her smile at the familiar rogue's face moving through her gardens. The guards never liked her evening walks, but they could not fault the Queen's reasoning that she needed the peace and quiet of the gardens for gentle contemplation. They left her alone there, secure in the thought that the palace walls could not be breached and that the Queen was safe in its very heart.

Ashe let them believe it. Everyone was happier that way.

"Careful, my Queen," Balthier said in a slow drawl, approaching. "That was almost a smile there."

"Rogue," she said without heat, lips curling into a full smile. He always knew anyway.

"But of course." He sketched a rough bow and pulled her flush against him. "There's still a sizable bounty on my head, of course. It's all a matter of time before I must leave again or risk being caught." Balthier kissed her, hands curling around her backside. He smiled as she wound her arms around him. "This would be quite the scandal if you were free to make your choices known to the world."

"You would enjoy that, of course."

"I'm a pirate, my darling," he drawled, sliding one hand beneath the folds of her dressing gown. "It is part of me by now. You know this."

"Yes, I do."

They grinned at each other, then leaned in to kiss with all of the desire that separation had built up. There was no need to say _I missed you_ or whatever words of affection she had once shared with her late husband. Balthier didn't need them. He needed her mouth over his, her hands pulling his clothes away from his skin and his own sliding her robes open. He hated her royal dresses, since they were too hard to take apart and put back together convincingly. Late night rendezvous served them well, and he pulled her toward the backless benches in one of the more secluded corners of the garden.

Balthier sat down on the cushion, pants puddled around his ankles and shirt pulled up over his abdomen. Ashe didn't wear layers beneath her robes the way she was supposed to, not on her garden walks. It left her nearly bare to his touch, and he sighed happily as she sank down over him. She was quiet, gasping and biting her lip as she rocked back and forth. Balthier palmed her breasts and kissed whatever skin he could, movements feverish. They never had enough time, and Ashe threaded her fingers through his hair to keep him close. He bucked his hips beneath hers, making her gasp a little little louder with the movement. Balthier moved one hand down her belly to find her clit. His touch was enough make her bite her lip almost hard enough draw blood, and he moved to kiss her lips and swallow her gasps.

Ashe was still silent as she came, then curled up around him. Balthier kept moving, his hands falling to her hips to keep up the rhythm until he came as well.

"You could come with me, you know," he murmured, hands running up her back beneath the open robe. At her bemused chuckle, he merely grinned. "It's an open invitation."

"One I can't take."

"You miss the open skies."

She nodded against his shoulder. "But I'm needed here. I have to take care of my country."

"And that's why I sneak in to take care of you." Balthier gave her another kiss. "I'll have to go before long, Ashe."

"I know," she whispered. And then it would be time for the confining rituals and mores of court. She would hate it, but it was necessary.

They kissed before disentangling. Balthier gave her a bow after dressing, a smirk on his lips. "Until the next time, my Queen."

"Until the next time," Ashe replied. She waited until he went over the garden wall, then tied her robe back into place and walked back into her quarters. For tonight she was just Ashe, but in the morning she would be Queen again.


End file.
